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National Charter Schools Week Archives - North Carolina Coalition for Charter Schools

May 18
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Round-up of coverage from National Charter Schools Week

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Aviation II students at Northeast Academy for Aerospace & Advanced Technologies. Courtesy of NEAAAT/EdNC.

National Charter Schools Week ended on Saturday, and we had a great time highlighting innovation at public charter schools. This year’s NCSW theme was “Building the Workforce of Tomorrow.”

Here’s an excerpt below from an EdNC perspective piece written by Coalition Exec. Director Dave Machado:

This week, communities across the country celebrate National Charter Schools Week, recognizing the nearly 4 million families nationwide that choose a public charter school education.

Here at home, our state ranks fourth in the nation for charter school enrollment growth, adding more than 31,000 additional students over the past five years. Today, more than 160,000 North Carolina children attend a public charter school, each representing parents making a deliberate choice for their child.

But enrollment numbers only tell part of the story. The greater impact comes from what’s happening inside these schools — and what it means for North Carolina’s economic future.

Our state faces a workforce challenge: The UNC System estimates North Carolina will add 260,000 new jobs over the next decade, requiring skilled workers to fill positions in manufacturing, technology, health sciences, and aerospace.

The question is whether our education system is prepared to deliver them. Across North Carolina, public charter schools are answering that question by offering innovative curricular options and technical training.

Just consider this recent Facebook post from the Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technologies (NEAAAT), an Elizabeth City charter school that’s six miles from one of the largest Coast Guard air stations in the country: “NEAAAT, in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center and Airbus Helicopters, is the recipient of the shell and engine parts of an MH-65 Dolphin. This expands aviation students from prototypes to real world application right here in Elizabeth City!”

Do you think maybe they’re doing something right?

Read the full article here.

What are some other highlights from the week?

North Carolina Rep. John Torbett (R-Gaston) also shared a legislative resolution in honor of National Charter Schools Week.

May 13
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Dave Machado op-ed: The power of innovation and choice in education

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Coalition Executive Director Dave Machado has a new Carolina Journal op-ed out for National Charter Schools Week about the power of innovation and choice in education. K-12 education today faces complex problems, but empowering parents and experimentation can provide a “path through the chaos,” he writes.

Here’s an excerpt from his article:

Scanning through the education policy and political headlines is an exercise in chaos.

“Early stats don’t support school cellphone bans.” “Want high schoolers to read books?” “Preventing hazing is harder than you think.” “Is your online student a bot?” “Stop generation Alpha’s brain rot.”

It’s a litany of problems with precious few solutions, and the solutions that do make it into the mix face immediate second-guessing. It’s apparent to me that no single authority can possibly resolve all of the problems plaguing K-12 education today. And even if that authority somehow did exist, nobody would believe them anyway.

With no obvious national policy solution to stuttering national test scores and literacy rates, it seems clear that experimentation — together with empowering parents to choose among an array of schools with different teaching and curriculum styles — is the best path through the chaos.

There are three reasons for this. First, and most obviously, children are not all alike and they never have been. Some learn best in strict, highly predictable environments; others flourish in less structured, Montessori-style settings. This is obvious even for very young children, which explains the multitude of preschool philosophies from which parents can choose. Bizarrely, granting parents an array of choices for preschool is not controversial, but granting them the same array of choices for K-12 school is controversial.

Pressing all K-12 students into the same educational environment may have made good sense when the option was simply school or no school. But that’s no longer the case and hasn’t been for many years. Parents deserve options for their children’s schooling because not all children flourish in the same environment, and the more options the better.

Read the rest of the article on Carolina Journal.

May 12
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Sallie B. Howard School’s innovative study abroad program

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Pinegrove School in India. Photo courtesy of Sallie B. Howard School/EdNC.

As part of its National Charter Schools Week coverage, EdNC has published a new article highlighting Sallie B. Howard School‘s innovative, semester-long study abroad program.

Kristen Blair, the Coalition’s communications director, wrote the article following interviews with students and school leaders.

Here’s an excerpt below:

Just two years ago, Sallie B. Howard School of Arts & Science (SBHS), a charter school in Wilson, launched a pioneering study abroad program at India’s Pinegrove School. The semester-long experience, occurring amid the verdant Himalayan foothills of Himachal Pradesh in North India, has proved transformative for participating students.

High school juniors Blanca Orozco-Perez and Angela Sangabriel lived and studied at Pinegrove last fall, two of four SBHS students selected to go. Both returned to the U.S. having experienced seismic shifts in their self-perceptions, worldview, and habits.

Prior to studying abroad, Orozco-Perez was reticent and unsure of herself. “I wouldn’t talk to a lot of people,” she said. “I was very timid. I was very shy. I couldn’t express myself right.”

But study abroad in the East, with its immense cultural difference, stretched and emboldened her. Along the way, something remarkable happened: Her view of herself and her engagement with the world changed.

“I learned overall that you can’t hide yourself in a box and expect everything to come to you,” said Orozco-Perez. As she navigated new relationships, customs, and food, she became more expansive and expressive. Upon her return to Wilson, her mother remarked, “You talk a lot more!”

For Sangabriel, travel itself was a novelty. “I had never been outside of the country until then, so it was my first time on a plane,” she said.

A folk musician, Sangabriel was transfixed by the deeply evocative quality of Indian music. “I had my eyes on the beautiful way that Indian classical music expresses itself,” she said. “That was one of my … driving factors the second I heard about it.”

In her study abroad application, Sangabriel promised to learn at least two songs in Hindi. She did that and more, performing and singing solo before a crowd of over 1,000 people at Pinegrove. Musical immersion abroad helped her bridge language and culture.

“Music is really a universal language,” she said. “You don’t have to understand what someone is saying to be able to understand their emotions.”

Read the full article on EdNC.

May 12
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Q&A with Dr. Sarena Fuller, innovator and award-winning charter leader

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Sarena Fuller at the NC General Assembly for Advocacy Day.

As part of our celebration of National Charter Schools Week 2025, the Coalition has chosen to highlight Dr. Sarena Fuller, the award-winning principal of ArtSpace Charter School in Swannanoa, North Carolina. ArtSpace, which launched in 2001, serves 400 students in grades K-8, offering them an integrated curriculum that emphasizes visual and performing arts.

 In addition to her leadership role at ArtSpace, Dr. Fuller is the 2024 NC Charter School Principal of the Year. In that capacity, she has been serving a one-year term on the state’s Charter Schools Review Board.

 Kristen Blair, the Coalition’s communications director, spoke with Dr. Fuller recently about her work at ArtSpace, her school’s recovery following Hurricane Helene, her experience as Charter School Principal of the Year, and more.

Seven months after Hurricane Helene, how is your school community doing? What do you want charter supporters and state leaders to know about recovery efforts?

Dr. Sarena Fuller: I am so proud of our community and grateful to be a part of it. Swannanoa and our school community have rallied and displayed strength and resilience beyond what I knew were possible. It’s truly impressive. Community has been the way that we’ve all gotten through the past seven months, really relying on one another.

What I would like lawmakers or people outside the region to know is that there’s still a lot of work to do.  Helene is present in our every day.

We have families who are still housed on an itinerant basis. They might be in a place for four weeks and then have to move. Families are rebuilding and still working with reimbursements and contractors. Housing and stability are still very real needs.

So is food security: We have grocery stores that have not reopened. It’s much harder for families who have lost cars or are itinerant to get to reliable grocery stores. There are just more barriers than we had before, and there are areas of town that still look like they did on September 30.

We’ve made a lot of progress. A main thoroughfare in Asheville recently reopened, which was huge. But as I drive down that road now for the first time in seven months, it looks totally different. Parks and restaurants that we frequented are gone, so we’re grieving again.

It’s a long road. We’re seeing that in school attendance and the ongoing need for mental health supports. Our families are reaching out for more wraparound support services. The resources they had are no longer there or are overwhelmed. One parent said it best: “We’re hanging on by a thread but the support systems and the safety nets underneath us are no longer there in the same way that they were before.”

In a Coalition Q&A last March, you talked about a school as an “interrelated ecosystem.” I was so struck by how that concept must have been tested and validated during these months of hurricane recovery. Can you tell me more about that?

Fuller: Absolutely! I’m glad you brought it up. Hurricane recovery underscored how accurate and vital this idea of school as an ecosystem really is. In the immediate aftermath of Helene, it was clear that schools weren’t just physical buildings for teaching and learning, they’re support systems. Communities lean on schools in moments of crisis. You saw that not only here but across Western North Carolina. We saw families relying on schools not just for education, but for food, emotional support, communication, and stability. Teachers became frontline responders, not only supporting students’ well-being but keeping in contact with the family: “What’s going on? What do you need?”

The interdependence was incredibly real. If staff members were struggling with housing, it impacted their students. If parents were overwhelmed or displaced, it showed up in the classrooms. The idea of school as an ecosystem wasn’t just validated, it was stress-tested.

What carried us wasn’t any single role, person, solution, or strategy. It was the strength of this web and the layers of respect and responsiveness that we had built beforehand. If we were successful in serving our community in the aftermath—and I think we were—it is because of relationships that were already there. That trust was essential.

The press release from the NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI) announcing your recognition last year as the Charter School Principal of the Year referenced the “doctrine of charity” that governs your leadership philosophy. What does that look like day to day?

Fuller: That’s all about trusting and believing everyone’s best intent—that people are giving their best and want to do well. Administrators and teachers make thousands of decisions a day. Sometimes there are tension points, but it’s about honoring that we have the best intent. We want to do well in this space that we’ve created together.

It isn’t just my belief, it’s a belief I try to encourage for everyone. If there’s a student behavior we need to address, it isn’t because the student didn’t want to do well today. If there’s conflict between staff, it isn’t because there’s malicious intent. The disagreement comes from a place of different perspectives, and different perspectives make us stronger.

The doctrine of charity frames our work with parents and community members—and our county commissioners. Even though commissioners cut the school budget by 4%, I assume their intent was to balance a budget for the greater good. I disagree with the decision, but I honor their intent.

Doing that takes a lot of work, but it shows up as patience and compassion day-to-day. Over time, it cultivates different perspectives that make our program stronger.

What has your role as the 2024 Charter School Principal of the Year entailed this year, and what have you learned?

Fuller: It has been such a joy, and Jake [Wilson, the 2025 NC Charter School Principal of the Year] is going to be fabulous in the role. I saw him in action at his school, and he brings a lot of enthusiasm to this work.

Serving as Charter School Principal of the Year has been incredible. I want to give a shout-out to the NC DPI team and Elizabeth Santamour for cultivating this program. I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in many things that focus on North Carolina public education. It has been so valuable—the Carolina Hunger Initiative; work at NCCAT; the Association of School Administrators leadership conference; Advocacy Day at the General Assembly; service on the Charter Schools Review Board; and ongoing work with the Coalition and the Association for Public Charter Schools.

At a school visit, left to right: Western Region Teacher of the Year Lydia Sales; State Teacher of the Year Heather Smith; Charter School Principal of the Year Sarena Fuller; Principal of the Year Beckie Spears.

This year has really been a love story to public education. I’ve gotten to do that work alongside the other regional Principals of the Year, who represent traditional school systems and districts. Hearing perspectives, sharing problems, and working together for solutions—while providing input on classroom impacts—has been inspiring.

Each of the North Carolina schools that I’ve had the privilege to visit blew me away. The innovation and quality of education that I’ve seen in this state are remarkable.

That role has also included a one-year term as a non-voting member of the state’s Charter Schools Review Board (CSRB). How has your CSRB service shifted or expanded your understanding of the opportunities and challenges for the state’s charter movement?

Fuller: That’s a deep question. It has been eye-opening—the process of obtaining a charter, renewing a charter, the accountability and support from the Office of Charter Schools, and the CSRB’s work. That work is necessary, thoughtful, and intentional.

For any critics of the school choice movement who might use accountability as a “gotcha,” this challenges that wholeheartedly. It is not easy to open a charter school, to keep a charter school operating at a high level, and renew a charter. There are very thoughtful, intentional mechanisms annually with the Office of Charter Schools—and then every three, five, or 10 years for charter renewals. There are a lot of brilliant, public school-minded, experienced professionals who not only hold schools accountable, but also provide resources and encouragement. It’s a hard job to run a school.

I would challenge anyone who doesn’t know the charter school process or who has questions about accountability to watch the CSRB meetings. You’ll see a team of professionals who really care about charter schools and public education.

On a bigger picture, we see out-of-state operators and providers—that have success in their models in other states—trying to open schools in North Carolina with mixed results. But what has been consistent are the homegrown North Carolina charter programs that are driven from a community need and based in their community with community leadership. They tend to be very successful.

Congratulations on ArtSpace’s recent approval from the CSRB to open a remote charter academy! I understand the 2025-26 school year will be a planning year for that academy, known as Spark Learning Center, with launch slated for Fall 2026. What are your hopes for Spark, and how will it help you better serve your local community?

Fuller: We are very excited about Spark because we have seen the needs in our middle school population shift since the pandemic. Family situations have also shifted, and I think that’s a reflection of the workforce.

Overwhelmingly, the patterns we’re seeing reflect a need for us to be more flexible and dynamic in what we’re offering. Spark will allow us to do that. We have critical conversations here with our staff about online learning, which we did well during Covid. There are many online learning programs. Given our focus on arts integration and fostering interpersonal development, we really didn’t want to go 100% virtual. We thought it wasn’t authentic to our mission and philosophy. But doing a blended, hybrid approach—with both online and in-person components—emerged as a way to provide flexibility with a philosophy that grounds us. It also provides students with direct support from their teachers and opportunities for engagement with other in-person cohorts.

I think what we’ve developed is a really creative, flexible model that will meet a lot of the needs that we’ve been seeing over the past few years.

How is ArtSpace planning to mark National Charter Schools Week this year?

Fuller: We are celebrating charter schools and choice, highlighting the great things charter schools do in terms of programming and innovation. Here in Buncombe County, we have several charter schools, some of which have been established in North Carolina for 20 years. We’ve been consistent servants to our community. So, we’re celebrating them and working together to get the word out on charter programming—to correct misunderstandings and make sure people understand what charters are, who we serve, and what we do.

We’ve invited representatives in to come visit with us. Rep. Brian Turner (D-Buncombe) came for a school tour, and that was fabulous. Some charter leaders also joined the recent State Board of Education meetings here in the Western region to collaborate more closely with our traditional district partners.

We are a team, and school choice is not just about charters. It’s about public education and how many different choices parents have to find a program that meets their needs and the needs of their students.

More on Dr. Fuller:

Learn more about Dr. Fuller’s philosophy of education in this video from the NC Department of Public Instruction. Read more about her perspective on hurricane recovery in this recent EdNC article.

Photos courtesy of Sarena Fuller.

May 17
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TMSA Students Recognized at NC General Assembly

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As part of National Charter Schools Week, House Speaker Tim Moore on Wednesday recognized students from TMSA Triangle Math and Science Academy and The Math & Science Academy of Apex. These students, who gathered in the House Gallery with parents and school leaders, represent charter school excellence in multiple areas, and at various ages.

Coalition Executive Director Lindalyn Kakadelis and Coalition lobbyist Lee Teague organized the event with TMSA students and lawmakers. Rep. Erin Paré, District 37 (Wake), sponsored their visit.

Below, we include the write-up of the visit from TMSA leaders:

It is with great pride and excitement that we extend the highest honors to six of our outstanding students from TMSA Triangle Math and Science Academy and The Math and Science Academy of Apex. Led by the NC Coalition for Charter Schools and sponsored by Rep. Erin Paré, the visit honoring these remarkable students provided them with recognition in the House Chamber of the NC General Assembly. House Speaker Tim Moore called out their names and read their achievements. They then received a standing ovation from all of the representatives in the House Gallery. Students’ parents also joined the event and met Rep. Erin Paré.
These students have demonstrated exceptional talent, dedication, and achievement in various fields. We acknowledge their remarkable accomplishments and invite you to join us in congratulating them! The students are:
  • Aashritha Karthik Kamu (Grade 5, TMSA Triangle)
  • Abeeha Yasheen (Grade 7, TMSA Triangle)
  • Vatsalya Vishnoi (Grade 6, TMSA Apex)
  • Daniel Loeffler (Grade 6, TMSA Apex)
  • Sina Dehghani (Grade 11, TMSA Triangle)
  • Alekhya Kotha (Grade 11, TMSA Triangle)

Here are some specifics about these students’ achievements:

Aashritha Karthik Kamu won 1st prize across all five categories in the Elementary division for a special award by NC One Water in the NC Science and Engineering Fair.

TMSA Triangle FLL team, the Cyber Tigers, achieved a remarkable feat at the North Carolina FLL Semifinals. With their incredible project, “The Arithmacade,” they not only captured the imagination of all but also earned the prestigious First Place Innovation Project Award and advanced to the NC State Championship. Abeeha Yasheen is recognized on behalf of her team.

Sixth graders Vatsalya Vishnoi and Daniel Loeffler were ranked top at the NC State Science Olympiad State Tournament. Vatsalya and Daniel competed with 40 teams consisting of 7th and 8th graders and came in first in the Air Trajectory category.

Sina Dehghani received 2nd Place in Travel and Tourism in the 2024 DECA State and 2024 DECA Internationals. Additionally, Sina achieved 2nd Place in the College Physics and Community Awareness Project in 2024 HOSA States.
Alekhya Kotha distinguished herself as a USA Biology Olympiad Semi-Finalist, ranking in the top 500 out of 10,000 participants from 44 states.

Congratulations to these exemplary students! We share photos from Wednesday’s visit:

Six students from TMSA visit the General Assembly on Wednesday and meet with Rep. Erin Paré.

Students and leaders from TMSA stand outside the House Gallery at the General Assembly.

Left to right: Coalition lobbyist Lee Teague, Rep. Erin Paré, TMSA leader Fatih Sahin, and Coalition Executive Director Lindalyn Kakadelis at the General Assembly. Photo credits: TMSA.

May 14
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Charter Schools Week Op-Ed from Lindalyn

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Lindalyn Kakadelis, the executive director of the Coalition, has a new op-ed out to mark National Charter Schools Week. The op-ed, published yesterday in Carolina Journal, highlights the growth and popularity of North Carolina’s public charter school movement–even as the political divide on charter schools grows.

Here’s an excerpt from the op-ed:

It’s National Charter Schools Week, and there is much to celebrate about North Carolina’s charter school movement. Public charter schools in our state now educate 145,000 students in 63 counties, and charter popularity continues to grow with families. In fact, the state’s charter school waitlist now features over 85,000 student names. Despite widespread popularity, however, charter schools face mounting political challenges.

First, some facts: Charter schools are free, public, and open to all. Yet, as more parents turn to them for their children’s education, there remains a threat that these public schools of choice will face new regulatory obstacles or even a cap prohibiting new charter schools from opening. The reason baffles me, but some corners view public charter schools as a threat to be tamed, rather than a dynamic educational environment that provides the best choice for some children.

A broad bipartisan coalition birthed public charter schools decades ago, and has supported the movement for many years. It has long been my dream for the politics surrounding the issue to return to that.

Read the full CJ perspective here.

May 10
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Q&A: 2023 Charter School Teacher of the Year Ryan Henderson

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 As part of National Charter Schools Week and Teacher Appreciation Week, Kristen Blair, the Coalition’s communications director, spoke with Ryan Henderson, the 2023 N.C. Charter School Teacher of the Year. The goal: spotlight his innovative work with students and his vision for teaching at one of the state’s oldest, most effective public charter schools. Mr. Henderson teaches TV/Film and Journalism to high school students at Sugar Creek Charter School in Charlotte—a school that seeks to “eradicate generational poverty” by providing a rigorous K-12 education “through academic preparation, college and career readiness and life skills for success.”

 You began your career in education as a substitute teacher in New Jersey. What came next and what compelled you to pursue a career as a teacher?

 Ryan Henderson: I had no intentions of becoming a schoolteacher. When I got out of college, I was doing freelance television in Philadelphia. I started substitute teaching to supplement that income. People saw that I had a pretty good knack for being in the classroom and influencing young people in a positive way. Once my son was born, I said, ‘Well, I can’t strap him on my hip and take him around Philadelphia and all over the country doing freelance TV productions!’ I knew education was a steady job for me that I could do and be in one place. So, I decided to go back to school and do a post-baccalaureate program to become a teacher. After some time, I got my teaching certificate and became a teacher of TV broadcasting, and I’m glad I did because now I get to utilize what I went to school for.

This is my sixth year down here [at Sugar Creek Charter School]. I ended up at this school, which is over 90% Black students and the rest Hispanic and other ethnic groups. I just feel like when God tells you to move—sometimes you don’t know why—but you make good decisions based on being patient and trying to understand where your journey is going.  I’ve been at Sugar Creek ever since and I love what I do.

I took a side step and became a substitute teacher again when we moved down here because there were no TV broadcasting jobs open and that’s what I’m certified in. Eventually, a TV broadcasting job opened up, I applied, and I got the position. I’ve been teaching TV and broadcasting for four years now. My school is for the underprivileged, underserved community. I get more joy in letting somebody know that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. There’s a route you can take that can help you become the best you that you can be. I love that about my job.

 What drew you to teach at a public charter school and to Sugar Creek Charter School, specifically?

 Ryan Henderson: When I walk up and down these hallways, I see my people. I see an opportunity to help my people. You have a lot of different ethnic groups and races in this country, but how many of us can actually say, ‘I helped my people’? That’s a passion of mine: to help my people—the underserved, underprivileged communities. I look at my own children, and I see my children in these children. That’s what kept me here.

What’s the best part about your work as a high school teacher of TV Broadcasting and Journalism?

 Ryan Henderson: I always say this to my colleagues: ‘I have the best job in the building.’ We can talk about anything we want that’s newsworthy and TV-worthy. We get to visit all of the other classes in the school and share it with the community. I have a long reach. My principal, Mr. Young, always tells us that we are the mouthpiece of the school.

Ryan Henderson with his students at Sugar Creek Charter School.

Take us behind the scenes of the “Wildcat Daily News.”

 Ryan Henderson: It’s exciting. We’re in our second semester so I have a new crew right now. This is our fourth quarter so we’re wrapping things up. We do a lot of the three phases of production: pre-production, production, and post-production. People don’t realize how long it takes to do the things that we do. They see the finished product on the screen. My kids come in and they have a routine. They love it. They come running to my class, they’re so excited.

If there’s a field trip, it’s a requirement that somebody from Wildcat Daily News is on that trip. Sometimes all of us go. So, we have that job of adventure. But my students embrace the hard work because of the results they get out of it. They’re like mini rock stars in our school.

You toured WCNC recently with your students. Why is it important for students to see what’s possible?

Ryan Henderson: You know that old saying, ‘Seeing is believing’? It’s true. Sometimes you have to touch and see what is possible in order to believe it. The fact that we had the opportunity to go on that trip made it real; it made it possible for our students. They had a different outlook on what is possible after that trip. I could see it on their faces. When they came back, they were excited, and they took their job more seriously because they had an example of adults doing the same thing that they were doing.

State Superintendent Catherine Truitt honors Ryan Henderson as the 2023 N.C. Charter School Teacher of the Year. All photo credits: Ryan Henderson.

Ryan Henderson is recognized at Sugar Creek Charter School in Charlotte.

In January, you were honored as North Carolina’s 2023 Charter School Teacher of the Year. What was that like? What is your goal for this year as you occupy this role?  

 Ryan Henderson: Just to be picked in my school—main campus and high school—to represent Sugar Creek Charter School was all I needed. That was the highlight of my teaching career in itself. Being recognized by Sugar Creek Charter School warms your heart. The rest of the state? That was great but it was just icing on the cake. The real honor for me was being honored by my own people. That brings tears to my eyes.

As far as my goals are concerned, I’m just going to keep doing what got me to this point. We have a lot of work to do in our communities, and it doesn’t stop because I get recognized. The recognition is wonderful. But the work doesn’t stop. That’s my motivation—because we have so much work to do, and there are always going to be younger people coming up who need help and direction.

Could you share your philosophy of education? You referred to the importance of ‘the five W’s and the H’ in your video interview with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

 Ryan Henderson: If you take that formula—the five Ws and the H [who, what, when, where, why, and how]—and apply it to anything in your life, not just journalism, you can apply it to your daily routine. When you ask those questions, you’re going to make it easier for yourself to make informed decisions. You might not get all of the answers but at least you put it out there, so you have a complete body of work and now you’re better informed on how to move forward. That’s my philosophy on life, not just teaching.  If you use that formula in life, you are going to make better decisions.

You mentor teachers who are at the beginning of their careers in education. What is the impetus behind that work?

Ryan Henderson: You don’t always want to go to your supervisor for certain things because you don’t want to seem like you’re incompetent, even though that’s not the intention. It’s always good to have somebody older or who has been in teaching longer than you have to give you guidance. We all need it, no matter what profession we’re in.

We’re dealing with young people. This isn’t a desk job where we’re in a cubicle. You’re dealing with human lives and at the same time you have to carry out lesson plans. So, that’s very complicated and sensitive. You’re a teacher yourself; you’re not a machine. You have your thoughts and feelings about this new profession. So, to have somebody that lets you know you’re not alone, that’s a real benefit. That’s the purpose behind it.

We’re losing a lot of teachers. Let’s just be real about that. They don’t feel protected; they feel overwhelmed. I want to let the younger teachers know that we’re all in this together: ‘If you have questions, ask. You’re not alone.’ This is not an easy job. Sometimes it’s a thankless job. But when you see the results, it can be the best, most rewarding career you’ll ever have.

 What is your favorite charter school moment?

 Ryan Henderson: Wow. I would say when my students spoke on my behalf. They had rounds for Charter School Teacher of the Year, and as one of the components of the rounds, you had to have students speak on your behalf as well as parents, colleagues, and your principal. I happened to be outside the door when my students were in the cafeteria, and they were all hooked up with headphones and laptops. When they were finished with their session [sharing input for Teacher of the Year], there was a great big roar, like they had just won a championship.

I came in and said, ‘What’s happening?’ They said, ‘Mr. Henderson, we killed that!’ They were speaking about me. So, that right there let me know I’m doing something right. The fact that they felt that strongly about me brought me to tears. That was my best moment.

Read more about Ryan Henderson:

 

May 08
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Leap of Faith: A Former Teacher from the State’s Second Largest School System Chooses a Charter School

By News

It’s National Charter Schools Week 2023! Today also marks the start of National Teacher Appreciation Week. What better way to bring both celebrations together than by highlighting a hardworking teacher at a public charter school? In this spotlight, the Coalition features Erika Harkey, a special education teacher at Community Public Charter School.

 

Erika and Ben Harkey enrolled their children, Arielle and Troy, at Community Public Charter School (CPCS) in 2020, just one year after the Gaston County charter school opened. That decision represented a leap of faith. Erika’s experience in education included work as a teacher in the state’s second largest school system, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS). Moreover, CPCS, the charter school, was new and untested. The Harkeys’ local elementary school, on the other hand, was established—and walkable.

“We literally can see an elementary school out our window, and we share a property line with our public middle school,” Erika says. “Convenience-wise, you can’t get any better than that! So, it was a big decision to take them out.”

Philosophical differences over instruction fueled the decision to leave. “One of the biggest reasons was the public school was using this program called i-Ready,” Erika says. “The students were on screens a lot of the day. We just didn’t like that.”

Screen immersion was a poor fit for Troy, then a second grader. “We could see how our son was going down with his confidence level,” Erika says. “He could never tell us what he did.” Another red flag: A teacher left mid-year for CPCS, citing concerns about i-Ready. “I thought, ‘Wow, that is a big deal to leave in the middle of the year,’” Erika says. “That kind of clued me in.”

She quickly dove into research about schooling options, including CPCS. The next year, she and Ben enrolled Troy and Arielle at CPCS. Now in fifth and second grades, both children are flourishing.

Troy, Ben, Arielle, and Erika Harkey. Photo credit: Erika Harkey.

Core Knowledge and ‘American values’

A K-8 campus, CPCS is a Title I school, with over one-third of students living in poverty. CPCS utilizes Core Knowledge in its curriculum, a content sequence that has shown great promise for spurring achievement. A new study from University of Virginia researchers found Core Knowledge had significant, positive effects on students’ reading achievement. (At one low-income charter school in the study, reading gains from Core Knowledge eliminated the income-based achievement gap. Read more from Fordham Institute.)

CPCS also features “American values,” according to school materials.  Students recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily and take pride in the military, Erika says. They seek to model core virtues, such as respect, responsibility, and diligence.

From Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to a charter school

Two years after enrolling her children, Erika is now a full-time special education teacher at CPCS. “I taught in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for five years in a self-contained classroom, helping students with very high needs.” Erika says. She left CMS when she had her first baby, expecting to go back to work at some point. This fall, circumstances aligned for a return to teaching.

“My son is one of the kids; he has autism,” Erika says. “I could see that the team needed help and they were having a hard time finding special ed teachers. I have a little bit of experience in that!”

Her day-to-day work has changed somewhat. “It is resource level,” Erika says. “It’s not self-contained. I’m in middle school, so these are children that have relatively good behaviors. They just need some extra support within the room.”

Traditional teaching and local control

For Ben, the traditional teaching model at CPCS has been a key selling point. “You have a better sense of what students are learning day to day,” he says.

In addition, the charter school’s governance structure fosters access to leaders—and influence over decisions. “At CPCS, you also have more localized control,” Ben says. “We are able to Zoom into the board meetings, which are comprised of about a half dozen folks, most of whom I know. It’s not the red tape and bureaucracy that you have in your normal county school system. If you want to make a change, then you just sign up and bring it before the board, they vote, and there you go!”

What about a family’s option to choose a charter school? Public debate over school choice is often hypothetical. But personal investment changes the stakes. “When it’s your kid, it’s different,” Ben says. “You have a different set of eyes.”

May 11
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How to celebrate National Charter Schools Week this week

By News

It’s National Charter Schools Week!

Around the nation, charter supporters are celebrating National Charter Schools Week. This year, public charter schools are celebrating their 30th birthday! The first charter law in the nation was passed in Minnesota in 1991.

Since then, the charter school movement has grown exponentially. What can you and your school do to shine a light on charters? First, start by sharing your story. Tell others about the good work your school is doing to educate students through innovation and choice.

Other ways to celebrate

Next, watch the webinar from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. They have lots of ideas for ways schools and students can take action. Here’s the webinar:

 

What else? Tomorrow, the Alliance is hosting a “30 under 30” celebration, highlighting the successes of 30 young charter change-makers. Register here.

On Thursday, students can participate in “Student Speak Day.” From the Association:

Students from across the country will reach out to their congressional representatives (via their teachers) to share what they love about their charter school and why it’s important to continue to support the growth and expansion of more charter schools through programs like the Charter Schools Program.

Learn more here.

Finally, on Friday, charter supporters can showcase their charter knowledge by playing a nationwide trivia game on Kahoot!.  Learn more here.